UN Secretary General calls on Israel, Syria to talk
Baku, December 4 (AZERTAC). Israel and Syria should work to settle their differences over the Golan Heights, which have simmered for more than 30 years, the U.N. secretary-general said.
The U.N. Security Council established the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force in 1974 to supervise a cease-fire agreement between Syria and Israel.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his report on UNDOF to the Security Council said that while the region was "generally quiet" the situation in the Middle East was likely to remain tense unless all sides come together in the name of peace.
Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, the head of the Israeli army`s intelligence research division, told lawmakers in the Knesset in May that he felt Damascus was still interested in peace.
"A political settlement with Israel is high on Syria`s list of priorities and intelligence shows a will to reach an agreement -- but on their terms, meaning a return of the Golan Heights and American involvement," he said.
Nevertheless, Ban complained that neither side had approached the negotiating table in more than two years, calling on both sides to resume peace talks as soon as possible.
"I hope that determined efforts will be made by all concerned to tackle the problem in all its aspects, with a view to arriving at a just and durable peace settlement," he said in a statement.
Ban recommended that the mandate for UNDOF be extended for another six months.
Other news in this section
